Crowdfunding raised more than two million euros. The banks followed
Upon their return to Belgium, the couple embarked on the Champagne adventure in Wallonia, developing a business plan for the estate ensuring a positive impact on an ecological, societal and economic level. “From the start, this was our hobby horse. In France, the vine uses 30% of pesticides for a much smaller proportion of agricultural land, overconsuming chemicals and phytosanitary products. We wanted to give meaning to our activity by creating an ecosystem resilient.”
In fact, only eight of the forty hectares available are made up of vines, while a thousand trees and shrubs were planted a year earlier, with flowering areas, beehives and livestock. “In Belgium, we are lucky to be able to start from a blank page, without having to submit to prior authorizations or the customary constraints of wine-growing countries like France, Spain or Italy.”
This is how Brut de Brabant was created in 2015. On Domaine W, the first bottles were produced in 2021 using the Champagne method. To launch the project, crowdfunding raised more than two million euros (participants were paid in bottles) while the banks followed, impressed to see a vineyard succeed in achieving financial balance in its first fiscal year. . Today, Wine Club W has 1,600 active members – it is, by far, the first in Belgium – who share a portion of the 50,000 bottles produced annually. The rest can be found in starred restaurants, à la carte or by the glass, or is offered during the numerous events organized within the estate.
“After the enormous success of our club – a global example of success in the world of wine – we are now expanding our offer with a formula for businesses, a concept that is all the rage abroad but did not exist still in Belgium This will give them the opportunity to welcome guests in a private cellar, to create a personalized vintage, to participate in the harvest with their teams or clients, to develop their network during the thirty annual events organized by the. domain, to receive annually a selection of our best vintages and to benefit from an immediate return on investment, 100% deductible!”
Thus, for the first time, the ecological and participatory vineyard of Domaine W is opening up to a handful of companies, a maximum of a hundred. This means that there will not be room for everyone. Information sessions are planned in the coming months, but Domaine W should not be expected to increase its activities to meet demand. Because Dimitri Vander Heyden does not budge: his production will remain what it is, confidential, exclusive and therefore very high-end. There’s no point in insisting or holding out a golden bridge. Fifty thousand bottles, not one more!
